Maharashtra witnessing COVID-19 resurgence, will take call on lockdown after 8 days: Uddhav Thackeray

Maharashtra is witnessing a "resurgence" of COVID-19 pandemic, Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray said on February 21.

Thackeray warned the state that another round of lockdown could be imposed if COVID-19-appropriate behaviour is not maintained by the residents.

"Do we need another lockdown? I want you (people) to take a call on this. People who want a lockdown will not wear a mask. People who don't want a lockdown will follow safety rules and wear a mask," he said, adding that a decision would be taken by the state government after eight days.

"We may have to bring a strict lockdown if we don’t follow discipline. Next eight days will tell us if to bring lockdown back," Thackeray said.

The chief minister's remarks came on a day when the state recorded a total of 6,971 new infections, highest since October last year. The single-day case count surged to 921 in state capital Mumbai.

The reason behind the recent spike is the lowering of guard, Thackeray said. "We have become complacent. This had happened in the West too. Those countries had to reimpose lockdowns," he said.

"Face mask is our only weapon against the coronavirus. I would like to reiterate that wearing a mask is mandatory," he said, adding that the state has begun rigorously imposing fines on those not wearing face masks in public.

"We have reported nearly 7,000 cases in the state today. 15 days ago, we were in a much better position. The number of cases in Mumbai have nearly doubled in a week's time. The number of cases reported in Amravati (district) today is on par with the earlier peak there," Thackeray said.

"Many areas in the state are witnessing a spike in cases. We want to avoid imposing lockdowns at short notice. I request all to follow safety protocols," the Maharashtra CM reiterated.

The state would also be barring all large-scale social, religious and political events from February 22, he said, adding that the restrictions would apply on government events as well.

On COVID-19 vaccination, Thackeray claimed that over 9 lakh healthcare and frontline workers have been vaccinated in the state so far. "Centre will decide about when to start the next phase of vaccination for general public," he added.

Maharashtra, along with Kerala, accounts for more than 70 percent of the total active cases in the country.

The state had, earlier this week, begun examining samples of positive infections reported in Yavatmal, Pune, Satara and Amravati to ascertain whether mutated virus strains are responsible for the recent spike.

No foreign strain linked to UK, South Africa or Brazil was detected among, the government said on February 19. The possibility of locally mutated variants of coronavirus, however, cannot be ruled out at this stage, experts said.